GUARANTEE
Enhancing collections is one of the major requirements for dentistry and needs proper planning to be successful. However several practices struggle with collections. This situation can at times be devastating for dental practitioners. The practice’s bottom line suffers due to these decreased payment collections. This has multiple consequences and further makes it difficult to invest in new equipment which would improve patient care and also improve office efficiency. Hence, it becomes crucial to enhance money collection in your dental practice.
Enhancing collections in your dental practice is an extremely simple and easy process. In basic terms, make payment ways easy for the patients so that they can go for the treatment without giving a second thought. Although, a good number of times things do not happen easily due to lack of options available. However, by following some simple steps you can increase the collection by 98%.
Some important tips which help to improve your practice’s collections significantly have been discussed below:
One of the most important reasons that patients are unable to pay on time or why they are unable to get treatment is because of not being able to afford the treatment. This is where third-party financing from a company can help. The third-party financing option helps you pay for what you produce and lets the patients pay each month to cover their bills.
A type of cryptocurrency i.e. Dentacoin is especially designed for dentists to help patients for easy monthly payments without any hassle. Some of the clinics that opted for Dentacoin in India are The Lotus Dental Care, Dentech Dental Care etc.
Further, patients might also inform their family and friends about the convenient payment options that the practice offers. This could drive in more patients.
Create a financial policy and share it with every patient. Also, distribute it periodically to existing patients. Policy that offers an easy way to pay on every visit for the treatment rather than paying all at once. Furthermore, review the policy with patients before their treatment is started. This makes sure that there is no confusion related to payment.
Also while putting together the policy, keep in mind that it does not have to be too lenient or too strict, or else it can harm the practice. Always remember that it is important to give payment options that are user-friendly, easy to understand, and flexible.
While it is imperative to create a financial policy that is flexible, it is also salient that the patients do not get confused with the range of options. This might create confusion, and take extra work, and don’t help you get paid on time. Try to understand the financial condition of the patient and sumup the treatment options accordingly. This will not help patients with pocket friendly payment but to you as well to get timely payment.
While it is imperative that patients pay properly, it is great for everyone involved in the dental practice if the patients pay upfront. Hence, give incentives to patients who pay on time. This would encourage them to be timely and would also encourage other patients to pay in a timely manner. Rewards can be like 10% discount on next treatment, free oral prophylaxis or free checkup of family members.
Electronic billing makes payment convenient and patients can easily log in to their account, see the payment details and pay accordingly. This process also saves the time and resources that the front office would have otherwise taken to process the payments. Other than that helps many patients to get reimbursement from offices or to show in filing tax to get rebate.
It is important for dental practitioners to increase their collections and these steps are the right way forward to achieve this task. Try to understand your patient’s financial condition and work accordingly.